Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Life’s Curve Balls

An autumn sunrise over Topeka.

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. Believe me, I wanted to!
I have all kinds of recipes lined up and restaurant experiences I want to
share.

Unfortunately, life pitched a curve ball to The Picky Eater’s
family. Do you remember my post from 2014 about his sister, Lisa, and her
husband, Don, adopting four children from Ukraine?
They got stuck there when the Independence
Square uprising happened.

On October 16, Don had open heart surgery to repair an
aortic aneurysm. The surgery went well, but a day later he had a massive
stroke, which damaged 2/3 of his brain’s left side, impacting his right side.
He had emergency surgery to remove part of his skull so the swelling had someplace to go…and to save his life.

Since then, the family has been on a roller coaster ride,
with Don having good days and bad, including needing to have fluid drained off
his brain last week. He has some movement in his right leg, so everyone is
hopeful he will walk again. He isn’t moving his right arm and he can’t speak
(yet?).

Don is a fun-loving guy who loves God and his family above all else...though fantasy football may run a close third. His humor-filled spirit still shines through at times when he's interacting with people. Especially with his beautiful daughters.

Now Lisa and Don face a long, long period of rehab two and a
half hours away in Nebraska.
Family and friends will pitch in to watch over the kids while Lisa is at Don’s
side. Needless to say, the loss of income is hitting them hard. If you would
like to help, a Go Fund Me page has been set up were you can donate. If
you want to follow Don’s progress, check out the Don Jenkins Update group on Facebook.